Gives new meaning to the term “carryall”; Image: Edward Berthelot/Getty Images

Chiropractors of the world, rejoice. Oversized bags are once again in. Though the micro-bag trend is nowhere near over (see: the rise of fanny packs), several key fashion personalities — Raf Simons, Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld, Demna Gvasalia, Alessandro Michele, Phoebe Philo — have aligned themselves with the schlepper cause. (What can we say? Fashion tends to operate in extremes.)

This past September, hobos, totes, bucket bags and shoppers of epic proportions made their way down the Spring 2018 runways of Céline, Calvin Klein and Chanel, to name just a few. (Given the commercial success of Balenciaga’s super-size, super expensive shopper bags, we were hardly surprised.)

Large enough to hold a full day’s (and night’s, and perhaps even a week’s, if you’re used to carrying a mini-bag) worth of essentials, this new crop of cool, capacious carryalls is all about utility. Need a change of shoes? Subway reading options? Gigantic headphones? All the moisturizing products (because winter)? As a wise man once said, “Just throw it in the bag.”

The trend towards bigger-is-better bags speaks to designers’ awareness of their costumers: modern, on-the-go women who, while freewheeling and decisive enough to pack their life into a mini bag, may prefer to travel not so light, for time or comfort’s sake. In keeping with said theme, pair yours with a bold-hued suit or glamleisure getup.

Two addenda:

1. Street style stars suggest you not fill your bag to the brim. Rather, keep it light and dangle it nonchalantly by your side. Big bags are fashion, bag lady vibes are not.

2. Rather than shell out a small fortune on a luxe tote, splurge on another big-ticket item and ask the sales clerk to bag it up in their largest logo-ed shopper or tote (which, in all likelihood, comes free with purchase). Two birds, one stone.

See the oversized bags coming in Spring 2018 and shop early takes on the trend in the slideshow below.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., will run his final race as a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver at Homestead Miami Speedway Sunday. A two-decade career pockmarked by a series of debilitating concussions prompted NASCAR’s perennial Most Popular Driver to announce that he will step away from the sport at season’s end, relinquishing the seat in Rick Hendrick’s potent No. 88 Chevrolet while still blessed with physical and mental faculties necessary to live a normal, happy life after racing.

Dale, Jr. will be missed

Dale seems fine with that decision. The rest of us, however, are struggling with the idea of a NASCAR race without Junior in it.

Drivers come and go with time. They always have, and they always will. Father Time is undefeated, and Earnhardt is not the first driver to be coerced into an early retirement by injury. As safe as NASCAR has become in recent years, Dale Jr. knows better than most how cruel this game can be, and how tenuous our grip is on tomorrow.

We will most certainly miss him on the race track, where every pass generated a joyous eruption from the grandstands. Junior never equaled the on-track success enjoyed by his legendary father, but if he had been born Dale Smith, Jr. — rather than Dale Earnhardt — his 26 career MENCS wins would have him discussed alongside the sport’s elite. Add another 24 victories and two championships in Xfinity Series competition and you’ve got a resume that 99% of racers would be proud to call their own.

It is off the track, however, where Earnhardt will be missed most.

Junior’s Homestead throwback car

Over the years, he has gone from a reticent, painfully shy interview to one of the most insightful and candid voices in the sport. In the early days of his career, Earnhardt’s press-conference repertoire was limited to, “yup, nope” and “guess so.” Not yet able – or willing — to step out of his father’s all-enveloping shadow, Junior struggled to find his voice, staring at the ground, sucking nervously on his lower lip and wondering aloud why reporters and fans cared about his opinion at all.

In time, however, Junior became his own man. The loss of his father, coupled with the painful and senseless demise of the Dale Earnhardt, Inc. race team taught him valuable lessons about the unfairness of life. An eventual move to the juggernaut Hendrick Motorsports organization established him as a superstar in his own right; far more than just his father’s son.

In subsequent seasons, the once subdued Earnhardt slowly evolved into a Media Center favorite; a “go to guy” for reporters in search of insightful quotes and opinions on the current state of the sport.

Earnhardt always seemed to feel a sense of responsibility when dealing with the media. He told reporters once, “If you’re going to ask me a question, the least I can do is to think about my answer.”

Earnhardt was thoughtful with the media

Far more than the wins and Top-5 finishes, that’s what I will miss about Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

In a testosterone-rich sport where the reaction to injury has historically been “suck it up and walk it off,” Earnhardt singlehandedly changed the tenor of the conversation. After suffering a concussion in a high-speed crash at Talladega Superspeedway, Junior’s decision to step out of the car in the midst of the 2012 playoffs changed the way professional athletes – in all sports — look at head injuries. If it was okay for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to put his health above all else, it was okay for others to do so, as well.

We will never know how many lives have been impacted – or even saved — by his example.

With that said, however, Earnhardt is already dropping subtle hints that Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 may not be his final race, after all. Spirits soared here at Homestead earlier today, when he asked reporters whether NASCAR rules would allow him to take part in next season’s Xfinity Series finale. Whether he’s truly thinking of racing again one day, or simply yanking NASCAR Nation’s collective chain, Earnhardt proved once again that very few athletes “move the needle” as effortlessly as he.

“Quickly making up for lost time…”

Whether or not he ever straps in for another NASCAR race, Earnhardt will continue leave an indelible mark. Next season, he will move to the broadcast booth as an analyst for NBC Sports, bringing his unique insight and perspective to fans around the globe. It is entirely possible that Earnhardt will prove more valuable to NASCAR as a TV analyst than he was as a driver, and his JR Motorsports Xfinity Series team has established itself as one of the premier organizations in NASCAR’s second-tier.

Junior may be retiring as a full-time driver, but he’s definitely not going away. With a loving wife and a new baby on the way, Earnhardt is finally poised to experience the joys of life, outside the race car. By his own admission, he was a bit late arriving at that particular dance. But from all indications, he and Amy are quickly making up for lost time.

We wish him the best in that, and in his continuing efforts here in NASCAR.

Thanks, Dale, for sharing yourself with us. Thanks for sharing your talent, your intensity and your competitive fire. Thanks for sharing your successes and failures, your triumphs and your tragedies. Thanks for making us a part of your family, and for becoming part of ours.

Some experts are convinced that a major agricultural crisis will soon occur within the state of California. Since California is a large state that spans across the greater portion of the west coast, many shipping vessels dock there. These vessels are often carrying insects that will prove to be invasive to the natural environment in the state. Invasive insects can make it into California through international air travel as well. The Los Angeles airport sees fifty thousand visitors per day, but not every piece of luggage can be checked. The amount of new invasive insects arriving in California has increased by about fifty percent since 1989, and many researchers believe climate change is a large factor.

California has always seen a relatively high amount of invasive insects. In 1989, experts determined that California sees about six new invasive insects each year. But by 2010 this number jumped to nine new invasive insects arriving each year. According to Mark Hoddle who is an entomologist and biological control specialist working at the University of California at Riverside, this recent influx of damaging invasive pests is becoming a “recipe for disaster”. Huddle believes that a few invasive insects could potentially cause irreversible damage. For example, the Asian citrus psyllid could cause an “existential threat” to California’s three billion dollar per year citrus industry.

This psyllid sucks the sap from trees. But it also transmits a bacteria while feeding on tree sap. The bacteria causes the fruit on citrus trees to become bitter, dry, misshapen and sometimes they disappear entirely. Florida is already seeing an unprecedented amount of infected citrus trees. Some experts believe that Florida may not even have a citrus industry in ten years as a result of Asian citrus psyllid activity. In addition to the Asian citrus psyllid, the gold spotted oak borer has already killed tens of thousands of trees in California, and their population is only increasing. Not all invasive insects in California can be eradicated, so officials are focusing only on the most devastating of insect pests.

Putting aside shipping vessels, could individual yachts or large boats that may be carrying insect pests arrive in California from other countries?

President Donald Trump has added five people to his shortlist of possible Supreme Court picks.

It’s unclear whether any vacancies on the nine-justice court are looming, but rumors have been swirling in recent months that Justice Anthony Kennedy wants to retire.

President Donald Trump has added five names to his list of prospective Supreme Court nominees, the White House announced on Friday.

Trump’s original list was released in September 2016 before he was elected president, and included then-Colorado federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch, who now sits on the Supreme Court in the seat left vacant by the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

“President Trump will choose a nominee for a future Supreme Court vacancy, should one arise,” the White House said in a statement announcing the list. “The President remains deeply committed to identifying and selecting outstanding jurists in the mold of Justice Gorsuch.”

The additions to Trump’s list are made of up three federal appeals court judges and two state Supreme Court justices. Two of the additions are women.

The new additions to the list include:

Amy Coney Barrett, a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

Britt Grant, a Georgia state Supreme Court justice

Brett Kavanaugh, a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit

Kevin Newsom, a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit

Patrick Wyrick, an Oklahoma state Supreme Court justice

Shortly after the list was released, White House counsel Don McGahn gave a hat tip to the new potential nominees during a speech to the Federalist Society, the conservative legal group that frequently weighs in on the Trump administration’s federal judicial nominees. The audience applauded and cheered as McGahn read the five names.

“What do the judges on the list have in common? They have a demonstrated commitment to originalism and textualism,” McGahn said. “Good judges follow the law, even when their decisions are unpopular. Judicial courage is as important as judicial independence.”

McGahn was referring to two schools of thought among legal scholars, which favors interpreting laws according to the meaning of the Constitution as it was written, and according to the plain text of the documents over the intent of their authors. Gorsuch, like Scalia, is frequently described as both an originalist and textualist.

It’s unclear whether any additional Supreme Court vacancies are looming — rumors began swirling last spring that Justice Anthony Kennedy intended to retire at the end of the term but were shut down several months later.

Last month, Trump reportedly told multiple people in private he believed he would be able to fill three more Supreme Court seats — those of Kennedy, as well as Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. According to Axios, Trump cited the 84-year-old Ginsburg’s age and Sotomayor’s health — she has Type 1 diabetes — as reasons he believed their seats would soon be vacant.